Project : Rooftop

Superheroes, Redesigned

Category: P:R Roundtable

P:R Roundtable: The Nine Lives (& More Costumes) Of Catwoman

Note:Dean and I hand over the keys to P:R Roundtable to our talented cast of contributors, as comics writer Vito Delsante, Dark Horse editor Rachel Edidin, comics scholar Jessica Plummer, and cartoonists Jon Morris and Joel Priddy take on DC’s alpha female Catwoman. From the first costume Selina put on to her most recent garb in The Dark Knight Rises, our staff don’t pull any punches and don’t put away the claws. In this P:R Roundtable rundown, we focused on the major costume shifts over the character’s history, and glossed over any minor variations like the recent “New 52″ design. And remember, submit your own art for our Fan-Art Friday: Catwoman — deadline is this Friday! – Chris A.

 

Catwoman’s first costume, by Bob Kane

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29 Comments by on August 6, 2012
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P:R Roundtable: DC’s New Kid Flash!

Note: In a flash, DC remade its superhero universe from the ground up last fall. Kid Flash aka Bart Allen has been a part of the Teen Titans series with a redesign by Brett Booth, but the advance solicits for DC Universe Presents #12 show a tweaked take on Booth’s design that really fixes many of the problems we discussed when the New 52 design was revealed. P:R asked who was the artist responsible for this redesigned Kid Flash, but have yet to hear back with a name. While we wait, we convened a P:R Roundtable panel with some of our writers discussing this new take. The illustration below is by Ryan Sook. – Chris A.

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18 Comments by on May 22, 2012
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P:R Roundtable: DC’s New 52 era Earth-2 Designs!

Note: Late last week DC Comics unveiled the first look at the heroes of their new Earth-2 to headline the upcoming Earth 2 and World’s Finest series. With these two covers we got to see some interesting renditions of DC’s top Trinity as well as two of its top comic heroines who’ve both been in need of a makeover. Let’s see what our P:R panel has to say about them all. – Chris A.

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27 Comments by on February 15, 2012
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P:R Roundtable: Spider-Man’s Costumes

Note: While artists continue to furiously scribble away at submissions for our Spider-Man: Webhead 2.0 Design contest (deadline August 8!), we convened our inner circle of P:R writers to talk about the costumes that have come before. From the original 60s design by Steve Ditko to the garb from the year 2099 with a few stops inbetween, we try to make sense of it all. And yes, we left out some designs — that’s what the comment section is for, where you can weigh in yourself! – Chris A.


Original Costume (Designed by Steve Ditko)

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35 Comments by on August 1, 2011
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P:R Roundtable: DC’s New Redesigns (Part 3 of 3)

Note: Friday brings you classic Double-Sized Edition of our P:R Roundtable as we round out our look at the DC redesigns coming your way this fall.  – Chris A.

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70 Comments by on July 1, 2011
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P:R Roundtable: DC’s New Redesigns (Part 2 of 3)

Note: As the DC turns, we come to the second of our three-part series looking at DC’s recent redesigns. Today we cover Firestorm, Mr. Terrific and Nightwing. – Chris A.

Vito: I prefer the two separated Firestorms to the combined one. I get what he was going for there; Ronnie and Jason are their own men, their own hero, but when they combine, they are super SUPER Firestorm. I just think the individual designs are stronger. It’s like Superman Blue and Superman Red.

Jon: When Ketchup and Mustard mix, they get Mayostorm, the Condiment Man!

Joel: I’m sorry, but I’ve seen Stefan Gambert’s redesign, and now, no other Firestorm is remotely acceptable.

Jon: What bugs me about this is that Firestorm – of all the DC properties not created by Jack Kirby – would be the one to most benefit from a Kirby-esque design. Broader stripes rather than thinner, shapes rather than delineations – there are so many strong elements in the Firestorm costume that could have been made much more bold.

Vito: I would say that of all the DCU Properties, the JSA is probably my favorite after the Batman family. So, with the news that the JSA is being “retired for now,” it’s kind of odd that Mr. T here gets the go around over, say, Power Girl. But this is about the redesign, not the politics of publishing. As a costume, I’m always reticent to accept bare arms on a character that is not invulnerable. Sure, you can’t really die of a gun shot wound to the arm, but it could get hacked off but good (see how that worked out for Arsenal?). I’d be more comfortable if he had short sleeves, or better yet, sleeves to his forearms (half-sleeves?). It looks like he just took off his jacket. It’s not a redesign as much as it is a rethink. My short sleeve/no sleeve annoyance aside, it appears as if the whole point of taking the costume to this step is to show off the tattoos. Now, we can argue whether Michael Holt would have tattoos (if it’s in character or not), but forget that for a second…if there is no JSA (and they’re saying that Superman is the FIRST hero of the modern age), then why does he a have “Fair Play” tattoo? It’s an odd choice.

Jess: This is another costume that doesn’t seem to have had a lot of thought put into it. Why the bare arms? Why the fussy little gloves? Why the red line around his waist? And generally speaking, any mask/makeup job (???) that makes it look like your hero has been drinking blood is not a good look.

Joel: The costume itself seems okay, and I rather like the shoes. The tattoos strike me as out of character, but are visually acceptable. But that red stem on the T-mask is whackadoodle.

Jon: I couldn’t place what was going on with the T-Mask over the nose and mouth, I was hoping it was only a lighting effect. I don’t think the mask is as strong a design element two-toned. Outside of that, though, I largely like this costume – good lines and shapes on the body, very sleek and athletic. I would have preferred that the gloves either go in the trash or be styled to accessorize with the boots, belt and neckline, and superhero tattoos are already showing their age, design-wise, so that wasn’t my favorite choice. It’s dynamic though, and I appreciate that.

Vito: Whackadoodle is now entering the official Project: Rooftop dictionary.

Chris: Honestly, this is one of my favorite super-hero redesigns from DC’s slate of announcements. I especially like the pitted part of the suit where Mr. Terrific’s robots come from.

Vito: The one I’m the most in love with. While I love Dick as a Batman, I was sorely missing some Nightwing in my life. Looking at this, I see Nightwing…and Batman Beyond! He keeps the Batman gloves/gauntlets and he’s more armored. A+.

Jon: I saw a lot of angst online with regards to Nightwing’s costume – “Why is it RED instead of BLUE???” – but, yeah, it’s a nod to Batman Beyond, and that’s great, because Dick Grayson is the original “Next Generation of the Bat-Dynasty”. Happy to see him back in the Nightwing togs in general – I enjoyed his time under the cowl in Morrison’s run, but I preferred him to be his own character – and the update to his previous costume is both elegant and reasonable; same sleek lines as before, now with some very sleek armor plating. I like!

Jess: I dunno, I feel like the classic Nightwing costume and the Batman Beyond costume both work because they’re so simple, and this misses the mark with all the textural effects. Plus, the scary red eyes seem fairly out of character to me. Dick’s a lover, not a fighter! (Well, except for all the fighting he does.)

Joel: You’d think they’d want to get that blue in there to distinguish him from the Red Hood, and Red Robin… and Batwoman, now that I think about it. Man, these guys are going to be embarrassed when they show up at the same alley, all wearing the same thing.

Jon: They’re gonna look like Batman’s backup singers.

I like to imagine that this is intentional branding on behalf of DC – Batman is black and gray and yellow or whatever the scheme is these days, the second-tier Bat-Family is some variation of black-and-red with highlights as needed. I may be giving them too much credit, though.

Joel: I think Batgirl may crack that theory.

Jon: Good point. Too much credit: officially given.

Chris: I’m with Vito on this. I think the red helps Nightwing get out of the shadow of Batman, and is a neat throwback to both Batman Beyond as well as the character’s time working with Deathstroke a few years back. I’d still love to have Dick grow out the long hair as he was seen briefly in the his futuristic self in Teen Titans Go!.

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33 Comments by on June 29, 2011
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P:R Roundtable: DC’s New Redesigns (Part 1 of 3)

Note: Comic fans have been blasted with volley after volley of revamped characters and titles coming out from DC over the past few weeks. After taking a bit to catch our breath, the P:R team is here to give their own take of the costume redesigns coming from Jim Lee, Cully Hamner and the DC artists. There’s so much to go over we’re doing it in three parts — stay tuned for Part 2 on Wednesday and Part 3 on Friday. – Chris A.

Vito: I don’t wholesale hate it. I’ve grown to accept, if not like, Wonder Woman’s current look. Batman will always look like Batman if he has that cowl and cape and a bat symbol of some sort on his chest. GL, Aquaman and Flash all look recognizable. What I don’t like: Cyborg looks too bulky. I have this character that is essentially a geomorph and he uses plates of stone/rock as armor, much the way that Cyborg has metal and technology as his armor. My biggest hurdle was, “How do I make him look like he won’t fall over?” We fixed and tweeked it, and my character looks fine now, but Cyborg is still too top heavy. He wouldn’t be running, as he is in this image; he’d faceplant.

And Superman…I’m just. I’ll say that I love the traditional classic Superman costume and leave it at that.

Jon: I never understand why so many designers always seem to want to make Superman’s costume look more formal. The way it looks traditionally – the exposed neck, the t-shirt cut on his shirt and the shirt-sleeve cuffs – are important to the character, because they visually acknowledge Superman’s connection with the common man.

The high collar, sleeker body and cuff-highlights admittedly make Superman look more authoritative, like a police officer or a military figure – really, it’s not a bad design in general, but just not for what Superman is supposed to represent. If you acknowledge that there’s a persistent societal conflict between the powers-that-be and the hoi polloi, then the look of Superman’s costume here puts him firmly on the side of The Man, which is not where he’s supposed to be…

Jess: With the exception of Wonder Woman and Cyborg (and I totally agree with you on the latter, Vito), these redesigns mainly seem to consist of taking the classic costumes and making them busier. But strong, clean lines are what made those costumes classic and those characters iconic. These redesigns are just confusing.

Wonder Woman here is actively infuriating to me, and just goes to show how pants or lack of pants isn’t the problem for her. Her choker is clearly supposed to evoke the collar of all the male heroes, but it just begs the question of why she doesn’t get a collar, and a proper shirt, instead of breasts that have such little support from her clothes I’m getting sympathy pains looking at her. If she’s supposed to match the guys, give her the same amount of coverage. If she’s not, let her look like she’s looked for three quarters of a century.

Joel: There’s a story-reason why everyone has the same collar, right? There has to be. Otherwise, it seems to point to a lack of… consideration which would be odd for such valuable properties. I agree with the general consensus that most of these are pretty much the same old thing, only busier, with Flash and Cyborg suffering the worst.

As part of an evolution, Wonder Woman’s costume is a positive step. It’s shares the the same urge towards the contemporary as the previous attempt at a redesign, but is more streamlined. But there’s too many metal accouterments, and they are too pointy. This is something I’ve seen on a lot of Project:Rooftop submissions, lately: putting big, pointing ornaments made out of shiny, rigid metal on parts of peoples bodies that need to flex and move. And I don’t get the appeal. Do lots of comics artists own stock in the company that makes those little round band-aids?

Chris: I can’t un-see the unified collars now that it’s been brought up here. I assume this is all Jim Lee at work here redesigning the costumes. Wonder Woman stands out as the best of the bunch here, but the others seem like an overcomplication of the classic designs. I wonder how long it takes before these revisions fall by the wayside as the designs go into usage across the line.

Jess: Is it just me or does Booster look like he really, really liked Tron and adjusted his costume accordingly? I’ve always thought that Booster’s costume, both with the collar and without, was perfect for his flashy personality while still being really simple and clean. This seems too busy to me, though I suppose it works for the more serious direction they’re trying to take the character in. That mask is gonna lead to some wicked tan lines, though.

Vixen’s another one where I thought her costume worked really well, so I’m wary about changes, though it’s hard to see the full costume here. I actually like Ice’s new costume a lot, but that redesign is from Generation Lost and not the reboot (and could stand to lose the fur belt). And I love, love, love that when given the option, DC redesigned old stalwarts like Superman and the Flash, then apparently looked at Guy Gardner’s baffling turtleneck/vest/moonboots ensemble and went, “Perfect. Don’t change a thing.”

Vito: I’m not sure why they changed Booster’s current costume (basically, the same without the disco collar). It’s certainly not the oddest of choices in the redesigns, just slightly unnecessary.

Joel: Re: Booster: It’s busier, but most of it looks like it could work. I’m perplexed by the open forehead, though. I have a feeling that’s going to screw up a lot of artists’ attempts to get Booster to emote. And is he wearing a skin-tight suit with sleeve cuffs? That looks okay in this pose, but I’m skeptical about how it will play out in a standing pose.

Rocket Red looks like he might have made pretty decent upgrade, though. Wish I could see the gloves and boots.

Jon: None of these are particularly offensive or impressive, although Booster’s gauntlet might get unwieldy rather quickly. I always thought the point of the Rocket Red armor was that it looked clunky and retro, but the new streamlined look is pretty nice. I wish everyone had their heads raised, though, so we could see if they’ve got those collars…

Vito: While I don’t hate it (it certainly falls in line with who and what Hawkman is), he reminds me too much of the Teen Titan, Golden Eagle (Charlie Parker).

Jon: I can’t even make heads or tails of this thing. I can’t parse how that shoulder thing works at all, or what’s going on with the knee – I’d need to see this one more straightforward.

Joel: I can’t see enough of this to really say anything about it other than to voice a bit of skepticism all the spikeyness.

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43 Comments by on June 27, 2011
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P:R Roundtable: Ultimate Spider-Man

Note: Monday morning was a busy day at P:R HQ, and everyone was talking about the new costume design for Ultimate Spider-Man. Long-story short — Marvel is doing an arc in the Ultimate titles emblazoned with the title “The Death of Spider-Man” and after that, a new character is said to take on the Spider-Man moniker — and this is their new costume. Sara Pichelli drew this striking image, but we’ve currently got a call in to Marvel to confirm the designer of Spidey’s new ultimate duds. With that underway, we’ve convened another edition of P:R Roundtable to discuss this redesign. – Chris A.

Joel: Nice drawing. And black and red make a nice color combo. It’s sleek and dramatic without being quite as stark and contrasty as the old black and white costume. I like that the webbing pattern is reserved to a single passage, and I really like the red fingers on the gloves. It plays well with our familiarity with the original costume, reducing it down to a few elements and playing up the drama of the black. I have a few points of concern, however. 1) The red edging around the webbed section, with it’s variable width, strikes me as fussy, and kinda looks like an off-the shoulder evening dress showing lots of decolletage.  2) In a standing pose, is this going to look awfully blank from the waist down? What if there were just a bit of red-on-black webbing to activate the boot area? 3) This may be completely contextually appropriate, given that there is, I gather, some sort of “DEAD BUT GOT BETTER!” storyline going on, but, individual merits of this design aside, aren’t the black costumes a little played out? It seems like a very easy and expected note to strike.

Most recent rendition of Ultimate Spider-Man (Art by David LaFuente)

Jon: Never been a big fan of swapping out costume colors for black – always strikes me as a very Eighties and slightly lazy path to take (see also The Captain and the post-Negative Zone FF). The outfit seems very top-heavy – that was my criticism of the Alex Ross movie costume design too. The tunic design doesn’t do much with the shape of the body, so it loses a lot of the kinetic energy of the classic Spider-Man suit. I like the highlighted fingers, would have been nice to see that repeated elsewhere on the costume. It’s a start, but it’s certainly not in Spidey’s top five or even ten best costumes, to be sure.

Joel: Any thoughts about the negative space in the abdomen of the spider-symbol? It almost looks like a fifth pair of legs tucked in back there. Is this meant to evoke the markings of a specific spider?

Glen: Welp, I guess I’ll be the one to say it: I think I know who the “new guy” inside the costume is.

Terry McGuinness.

I mean … right? Spider-Man Beyond? No? Just me? Cough?

This one’s a tough sell, for me. I’ve always been a fan of the original suit — yes, it’s got a lot of fussy elements and all those web-strands must be hell to draw, panel after panel, but it GRABS you. Other heroes are conceptually reducible to their chest-insignias, but not so with Spidey: You envision that spider at the center of its web — or, more often, you envision a stylized Spidey-head, complete with eyes and web-netting.  There’s a reason for that, and it’s that all that web detail doesn’t feel extraneous, it’s an essential part of him.

Here, they’ve kept the chest/head bits, but let the rest go. If you think about it, it’s kind of what the 60s Spider-Man cartoon did, if only so the illustrators wouldn’t draw themselves into an early grave.

Still, the black seems uninspired, to me. A fall-back. Instead of reading as a new, more sleek or kinetic direction, it seems to me like they’re splitting the difference between OG Spidey and the symbiote-suit. The result is still Spidey, but not the friendly-neighborhood variety. Maybe that’s the point, though.

Vito: I recall, of all things, a Wizard poll for the greatest costume of all time. The winner was Spider-Man for reasons I can’t remember, but I remember thinking, “Yeah, that makes sense.” That blue and red is classic and it’s quite astounding how many different times he’s worn something else when that blue and red number is just being ignored in a drawer. That all said, I don’t hate this new costume, but here’s what I don’t like:

1. That triangle shape seems, oddly enough, unnatural. I have no basis for this argument. It’s the first word that came to mind when looking at it. It works for the Alex Ross-designed Captain America because it’s the shape of his original shield; there’s an immediate connection. This one just seems arbitrary, like a shape for the sake of having a shape.
2. This might be overstating the obvious, but there is an awful lot of black here. If I’m not looking at Venom or Secret Wars #8, I’m not seeing Spider-Man…in other words, that’s not Peter Parker under there, in my head. No matter where this story goes (which I am enjoying), whether that’s Peter healed or a clone, I don’t see Peter. Which makes me think this is temporary, which leads me to…
3. This is not a permanent design. It might be…I’m not privy to Marvel’s publishing plan or Brian Michael Bendis’ plots, but that is not a permanent design; that’s a placeholder. In other words, it’s not iconic. When I look at this, I want to see Spider-Man, but my brain is telling me, “That’s someone that’s trying to be Spider-Man.” And trust me, I read Ultimate Spider-Man every month, I read the tie-in minis, I read it all. I’m invested in this character. My point is, I will still be reading, but when I do, I’m always going to think, “When is Spider-Man going to show up?”

Chris: I really enjoy this one. None of the recent redesigns over in the Amazing Spider-Man book took hold for me, but this one seems like a contender. It needs some real-world tinkering a bit in the same way that Steve Ditko tinkered with his design in subsequent issues, but I think this stays true enough to the original while also trying to do something different. Glens comments on the Batman: Beyond-ness of it all make me laugh, but then look towards another future hero — Spider-man 2099 (as designed by Rick Leonardi).

Like Vito said, I don’t think we’ll see this costume supersede the standard version but it acts as a forward-thinking reassessment of it in the same was as Frank Quitely’s X-Men designs and Alex Ross’ Captain America. I’d love to see this in action!

Spider-Man's Costumes Through The Years (art by David Finch)

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10 Comments by on April 22, 2011
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P:R Roundtable: Iron Fist

Note: In this installment of our new column P:R Roundtable, the guys and gals here have set their sights on the Marvel’s recent revisions to the Iron Fist character in the pages of New Avengers. In the story, Iron Fist was spirited away to the Light Dimension by someone masquerading as Dr. Strange’s dead mentor the Ancient One. The Eye of Agamotto is in play and magic hijinx ensue, leaving Iron Fist with a new costume — taking his existing design (by David Aja) and putting into white and gold. – Chris Arrant

Chris: To give some extra background, New Avengers artist and friend of the site Stuart Immonen was kind enough to tell us what was going on behind the scenes. “It was in the script,” Immonen said. “I can only guess that it was meant as a visual clue to the experience Iron Fist had in the Light Dimension. Initially, we talked about it being temporary, but as a group decided that we liked the look. That’s about it– nothing earth-shattering.”

And the look has been carried over past the story-arc into Iron Fist’s appearances not only in New Avengers, but also his new miniseries Power Man & Iron Fist. Enough prattle — let’s see what our writers think of the design!

Vito: The thing about the “new” Iron Fist costume is that it’s just a change of a primary color, but the change is so bold.  White is a tough color to pull off, but when you really consider old kung-fu movies and the, for lack of a better word, elder characters usually wear white.  Think of Ryu from Street Fighter or Pi Mei from Kill Bill.  Danny Rand certainly is a kung-fu master, and now, his attire reflects that.

Rachel: Has anyone one else noticed that Iron Fist’s costume is IDENTICAL to Jean Grey’s phoenix togs, save for a slightly higher neckline and a different mythical flying thing?

That said, I think it’s a shame that they skipped the Dark Phoenix colors–that was always my favorite palette for the costume. Nor am I fond of the huge-field-of-white-and-gold effect–it screws up the balance of pages he’s on, plus it’s gonna be hellishly hard to get stains out. White can work when there’s texture–think Power Girl or Colleen Wing–but this is just distracting.

Cover to "Power Man & Iron Fist" #5 (2010)

Chris: When this new costume variation first popped up in New Avengers I thought it was a temporary thing, but it’s really grown on me and gives Danny Rand a more mystical strata. Although not too different than his previous costume (which debuted in the Immortal Iron Fist series and was designed by David Aja), the striking white-and-gold (instead of green-and-yellow) really plays up Iron Fist. It’s like he’s Super-Saiyan.

Jesse: For a master martial artist and skilled puncher of things, Iron Fist looks pretty ridiculous in an all white and gold get up. I completely get Jonathan’s take on the reason behind the suit, but it seems uninspired. I feel like I am looking at the character select screen on a Street Fighter game, disappointed that my friend picked Chun-Li before I could, so I GUESS I’ll choose the pink version. Same costume, but leaves me wanting the original. That said, there are better ways to convey that Danny is a mystical mentor than a variant costume.

Jonathan: I’m in favor of the new design – tentatively.

I’ve been a fan of (Power Man &) Iron Fist going back a long ways, and I have a lot of affection for the old high-collar-and-unbuttoned-shirt outfit. One of the things I think the old costume did fairly well is to balance out the rather heavy green base color – so much flesh was showing and the yellow elements were so extravagant that the green provided a solid launching pad for an energetic look, which is important for a martial arts character. The early costume may have been objectively ludicrous, but it provided Danny Rand with a lot of energy, particularly with all the sharp, electric angles in it.

Iron Fist previous design by David Aja, as seen in "The Immortal Iron Fist" series

The most recent costume before this one, I didn’t particularly like, largely because it got rid of the dynamic angles and drastically dimmed the yellow and flesh tones. Besides that, the green was significantly darker, and the result was that Iron Fist was visually duller – not a lot of punch or implication of dramatic energy in that one.

This current palette brings back ALL that energy and much more, it’s vibrant and dynamic and even when he’s standing still, it pops. I did notice that they used Dave Cockrum’s original Phoenix palette (Between this, “Dark ” Iron Fist and his original costume colors, will Danny ever NOT wear the same color as Jean Grey? Is a blue-and-orange Iron Fist in the works?). So I like it – IF – it continues to have something to do with the character story-wise. It seems that the new focus on Iron Fist will be as a mystic character first and a martial artist second, and the colors suit that nicely. It’s also nice that, with the cut of the costume and the regal gold-on-white, he looks more like a mythical martial arts master inasmuch as his storyline deals prominently with his role as an instructor and mentor.

If it doesn’t continue to relate to his storyline, well, then it looks inappropriate. If, for instance, he goes back to being little more than a street-level kung-fu fighter, he’s going to look like he’s wearing a white tux to a mud wrestling event.

Jessica: I’m not really up on my Iron Fist, but I’m with Rachel in terms of the white spandex.  The color palate is definitely more vibrant than the previous costume, as Jon says, but I just can’t look at it without thinking “Sweat stains.  Sweat stains everywhere.”  But that may just be my damage. :)

Joel: The white is a hard sell. Unlike Jon, I really liked the previous costume. As endearing as the Seventies funk fu outfit was, the last costume was one I could take seriously. Distinct yet elegantly pared down, it spoke of a man with who had things to do and was going to get them done. The new costume seems to pretty much be the previous one with the ostentation dialed up a notch. I can follow the idea that this represents some kind of spiritually leveled-up Iron Fist, but I think there are much more interesting routes one could have taken to that end.

People keep mentioning Phoenix, but I’m thinking of Mary Marvel. Now, there was superhero that could make white and gold work.

Marvy Marvel from "Infinite Crisis" #3 illustrated by J.G. Jones

Jessica: Oh God, now I’m picturing Danny Rand in this [Editor's Note: See image at right!]

Jonathan: LET’S MAKE THAT HAPPEN!

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14 Comments by on March 28, 2011
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P:R Roundtable: The Future Foundation

Note: In the wake of the title-altering Fantastic Four #587 where one of the team’s members…uhm, (spoilers!) “left,” Marvel is ending the series and replacing it with a new monthly, modestly titled FF. Of course FF is the common abbreviation for the Fantastic Four, but it is also the abbreviation for “Future Foundation,” a philanthropic brain-trust set up by Reed Richards about a year ago, composed not just of the superheroic Fantastic Four but all of the extended family in the Baxter Building. This refocusing gave the guys in Marvel’s wardrobe department a chance to go all out and not just re-tinker with blue & white unitards Jack Kirby sewed up back in the ’60s, but to defrock them all together and start up something new and science-y. So we gathered our own brain-trust of P:R editors and contributors to talk about the new designs. – Chris Arrant

FF costume designs by Marko Djurdjevic

Dean: Are these for real? Awesome looks. Elegant color choice. Very sci-fi, very 21st century. Very Apple. Deceptively simple, given the individualized detailing. Brilliant logo. (Not surprising, given Jonathan Hickman’s involvement.) Love the hexagon incorporation on Spidey’s symbol. I’ve been enjoying Hickman’s Fantastic Four run, but this kinda membership/mission/wardrobe shakeup is just the kind of spark it’s needed to kick into Must Read territory. Count me in for the Future Foundation. These are an A+.

Jonathan: My first thought is that, at this rate, Marvel’s super-heroes are going to look mighty gauche after Labor Day.

Vito: It’s so funny how we’re coming across a lot of these white costumes these days. I wonder if it’s an intentional shift toward a real “good guys wear white” cowboy mentality. In any case, I really like them. They’re sleek and a real departure from the classics. I like Brevoort’s thinking (or his explanation) behind them. Color me intrigued by those hexagon logos on the front, too. Definitely reading this when it comes out.

Jessica: Sue is totally rocking it! Very mod. I like Reed’s too, but Ben kind of looks like a member of the men’s gymnastics team representing Hexagonia at the Olympics. And I can’t look away from that gleaming white Spidey-package. I don’t really know what that says about me…

Chris: These designs look so…sterile. If any superheroes would wear labcoats it would be the Reed family, and I like the alternating hexagon pattern to symbolize the different members of the core 3.Thing’s costume especially rings true to me; the more rugged work boots and the tanktop seem like something a Yancy Streeter-like Ben Grimm would wear.

Spider-Man’s variant costume is nice. I wonder if the other guest members rotating in that fourth spot will all get a FF-ed costume design. I would have done something different with the head though–it looks like Zen the Intergalactic Ninja.

FF #1 by Steve Epting

Rachel: Something about those costumes screams “video game” to me; I think it’s a combination of the hexagon motif and the way the piping is laid out. What they *don’t* project is what the article claims they’re supposed to: there’s nothing particularly bleak to them, nor that suggests mourning, nor even a new start. They’re just–there. If they say anything to me, it’s “science,” “future,” and “we just noticed that a lot of people really like Mass Effect.”

Thing is, I feel like I *should* like these costumes more than I do. They’re nods to a sort of streamlined cyberpunk aesthetic that I really dig–hell, that I *wear*. They’re really solid designs, well balanced and well drawn. They fit the “Future Foundation” idea.

As for the white costume trend–I’m against it. White is impractical, and in scene, unless it’s handled very carefully, it can really eat momentum and balance. The white costumes that have historically worked well–I’m thinking Power Girl, Apollo, maybe Fantomex–tend either to have been balanced by a lot of skin and/or contrasting colors, or to have a lot of texture and visual interest that, for the most part, I think that these (and that Iron Fist costume) lack.

Vito: I really enjoy Hickman’s super hero stories (FF, SHIELD, Secret Warriors) because they are so like MSNBC; they “lean forward.” If these are “just” plot devices, I guarantee they have more utilitarian purposes within the book. Like I said, I read a lot of Hickman books; nothing is “just” there without having a reason.

Joel: The usual disclaimer: I have none of the context for these costumes. Did something happen to Johnny? He’s on vacation, right? Touring with his band?

The hexagonal design is a pretty great update of the 4-emblem. Even though Spider-man’s emblem brings in the hex as well, the interlocking of the three hexes keeps a little distance between the remaining three full-timers and the temp. Which seems just and proper. And, when Johnny gets back from…uh, is he on Dancing The Stars? it would be easy to add a fourth hex to
the design and keep on going.

I have a knee-jerk reaction against the white, which evolved into considered dislike after reading the reason. The world seems black and white? Man, if there’s one thing I don’t want in a Fantastic Four comic, it’s moral absolutism.
Color aside, I like the design of Reed’s costume. There’re enough lines to keep it interesting, but not so many that it starts to look too ornamental. It looks action-scientisty. The Thing’s seems nicely utilitarian, as well, although I always think he looks goofy in anything other than shorts. The tops of his boots are a little unresolved. And there’s no excuse for such poor posture, Ben. Sue’s falls off the ornamental cliff, though. The darker stripes seem to be there purely to remind us of her feminine attributes, conveniently indicating where the stocking and bustier go. As for Spider-man, well, my inner 8-year old swoons at the thought of Spider-man joining the team, but, dang, Chris hit the nail on the head with the Zen the Intergalactic Ninja point.

Is Johnny working undercover for SHIELD?

Dean: Johnny’s gone to live on a farm in the Negative Zone, Joel. A nice one. With lots of room and plenty of bug-monsters. I mean superheroes.

Jessi: I’m just going to leave this right here.

I love the hexagonal emblem. It’s very science-y and ties together the members of the Fantastic Four, uh, Three. I am never going to understand why Spider-Man needs a different costume to hang with the Future Foundation, though. So when he’s called upon by the FF, he’s just going to what, change costumes? Seems a little impractical.

Really, I think I’d like the costumes more if they were in any color other than white. For now, I hope they stock up on plenty of bleach markers.

Dean: Thanks to the P:R gang for their thoughts! We leave you with Daniel Acuna’s variant cover for FF #1, which makes me think the new series is gonna rule. Bring on the future!

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28 Comments by on February 13, 2011
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